Jason Day parts ways with caddie who had been with him since turning pro

The former caddie will however stay on as his coach

Jason Day joins a long list of big-name players who have dropped caddies in 2017. Phil Mickelson and Jim "Bones" Mackay were the first. They were followed by Rory McIlroy and J.P. Fitzgerald. And now Jason Day has let go of his longtime caddie and swing coach Colin Swatton.

Swatton will stay on as swing coach, but Day will replace him on his bag for the foreseeable future with his high school pal Luke Reardon. Swatton had been Day's caddie since he turned pro and his coach for longer than that.

"It may be somewhere down the road where four months from now -- I don't even know how long it will be -- but I can come back to him and say, 'Look, man, I made a mistake and I need to come back and have you on the bag,'" Day said on Wednesday at the BMW Championship. He added that Swatton was "obviously a little bit shocked and disappointed."

"Sometimes the chemistry just doesn't work. He's been my coach since I'm 12. Obviously this is a very hard time for both of us with regards to we had a relationship for so long, my caddie for 11 years."

Swatton has been more than a swing coach and a caddie for Day. He was a father figure when Day lost his own dad at a young age. The two have marched on for nearly two decades, and now they won't (at least on the course).

"He was an amazing caddie, amazing coach and amazing person," Day said. "He's done pretty much everything he possibly can to get me to where I'm going. Unfortunately, just didn't work out.

"Like I said, nothing is broken. I could have him on the bag next year. Might be a bag share thing. I just don't know yet. This is kind of the first time I've actually been separated from Col as a player/caddy relationship and I'm trying to find my footing here ..."

Day noted that he will try out Reardon on the bag -- much like McIlroy has been trying out his pal Harry Diamond -- and then he may or may not switch before the end of the calendar year.

"I've got a buddy on the bag. I might have another buddy on the bag at the Presidents Cup and we'll see how it goes," Day said. "I just want to finish out the year trying to finish out strong and if I can do that, that would be great. If not, obviously go through the steps of trying to find someone more secure on the bag for next year."

It's a bit of an odd switch for Day, who has not had the greatest season. Players change caddies all the time, but they rarely do it with just two tournaments left on the season, and there aren't many player-caddie relationships like Day and Swatton. Maybe it will spark something in Day, though, as he's No. 28 in the FedEx Cup standings and will be fighting to make it to the Tour Championship next week.

Day won the BMW Championship two years ago at this course at Conway Farms.

Kyle Porter began his sports writing career with CBS Sports in 2012. He covers golf, writes poetry about Rory McIlroy's swing, stays ready on Tiger watch and loves the Masters more than anyone you know....
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